And So They Were
by runwitskizzers
Summary: SasuSaku. “Thank you, because I was planning on falling in love with him and changing sides to Akatsuki, betraying my friends, my family, and my home. And, I’m totally going to tell him ALL about Naruto.” Sequel to And So They Met.
1. Chapter 1

They had been on the road for two weeks, three days, six hours, and twenty-four minutes, and to be quite honest, she was starting to get very, very, very annoyed.

"And _then_, I say to him, 'are _you_ talking to me?' and he's like 'who the fu-"

"Naruto, if you tell that story one more time, I'm going to kill you. We all saw it; we were _there_, in the restaurant, when you knocked over that little boy's ice-cream cone because he called you ugly. NOW STOP TALKING ABOUT IT!" She knew she was breathing heavily, and probably looked a little crazy… well, from the look Sasuke was giving her, she probably looked like a demoness or something… but c'_mon_. This was ridiculous. They'd been on the road for that long and had not once gotten a single break from one another. There had been no action. There had been no akatsuki sightings or even _rumors_. It was just them. And her. And talking.

"Ooookay, Sakuara-chan." Naruto backed away with his arms up in a 'I am peaceful, please don't eat me' fashion.

"How about we break for lunch, kids?" Kakashi, without even trying, had managed to insult all of them. Bastard.

"Sure, as long as the hag doesn't try to beat us all within an inch of our lives." That did it. She launched herself towards her idiot teammate's placid face with the intent to maul, claw, bite, and scratch him within a _centimeter_ of his life. This, however, did not happen. All of a sudden she was tied to a tree. She glared up at her boyfriend in irritation. \Make that _former_ boyfriend.\

"Sakura, it's for your own good." … She was going to kill them all. "You need to calm down. I'll get you a plate." He nodded at her once, and then started to walk towards the pit that Kakashi had set up for the fire.

"SASUKE! Come back and untie me!! This is ridiculous!!"

"Ah ah ah, Sakura-chan, you know that's not how he works." Her blond teammate, the one who _supposedly_ really cared about her, and _supposedly_ believed she was one of his precious people, sat directly in front of her and shook his head. They were all so bloody _irritating_.

"Naruto, if you untie me, I promise to not hurt you." She said in this in the sweetest possible voice, and threw in a beautiful smile for good measure.

"No way, Sakura-chan, even if you didn't, teme would probably fry my brains for getting in between your lover's quarrel. But, no worries. I'll make sure he gives you good ramen!" And then with a frog hop up, he was gone.

Another fifteen minutes went by before Sasuke deigned to return to her… admittedly, he had been cooking, but whatever.

"About time." She couldn't help mutter as he moved to untie the ropes.

"I hope you've calmed down, now. I know that they," he sent a head nod in the direction of the other two, "can be annoying… _incredibly_ annoying… but, you can't beat them to death every time you're frustrated. What if we happened to run into someone we'd need to fight while you were killing them?" She sighed. When had he gotten so bloody logical?

"I suppose that would look less than professional." She grimaced, stretching and popping the joints in her back. He settled down next to her and handed her the bowl.

"Exactly." There they were, back to short answers.

"I think the amount of testosterone in our group might be stifling me." As the words were coming out of her mouth, she knew that she probably shouldn't have said it.

"Excuse me?" He was already glaring at her.

"I didn't mean that I regret coming on this mission, Sasuke. I was just saying that it's a little frustrating sometimes. Which I think is a perfectly valid sentiment, by the way." He had turned away from her, now.

"Hn." And then without another word, he got up and walked back to the other three. Jeez louise. Maybe there was a little bit of estrogen around after all.

"Fine, I'll eat my food by myself. So there."

Twenty minutes and a full tummy later, she walked over to the rest of her group with her empty bowl. She silently held the food out to Sasuke, who in turn took it without a word. Fine, if that's how he wanted to be, then so be it. She could snub just as well as he could. Turning on her heel, she flipped her hair back at him, and went to sit next to Sai.

Because she knew, _knew_, he still hated the idea of a replacement.

"What do you want, ugly." … Maybe this hadn't been such a great idea after all. No, no, no, be civil, Sakura! Civil.

"Nothing, just wanted to see what you were sketching, jerk-face." If anything, art was a safe subject with Sai. She leaned over his shoulder to glance at the pad, "… Is that supposed to be…"

"Hinata-san, yes." Naruto's ears visibly perked up.

"WHY ARE YOU DRAWING HINATA-CHAN?!" Sai looked back him calmly,

"Because I think she is very beautiful. She has a softness to her face that most kunoichi lack." Sakura could feel a vein in her forehead start throbbing as a response to the implied insult, "And now that you've cancelled the wedding –"

"POSTPONED!!!!!!!! WE POSTPONED THE WEDDING!" … Maybe she'd let Naruto have this one.

"I feel as though I may have a chance. So I'm going to mail her this as a token." And then _Naruto_ was tied to a tree.

Funny how things work out.

"We actually can't keep him there, Sasuke. We have to get going." Kakashi had already packed up their cookware and was walking away.

"Hn. Naruto, don't kill him." Once he was satisfied the grunts he got in response were affirmative, he untied the knots. Sigh. Naruto had only been tied up for three minutes. Life was so unfair. As they joined their former sensei, she purposefully walked ahead next to him so as to not have to suffer through Sasuke's big fat crybaby silent treatment.

"Oh good, Sakura. I'm glad you're walking up here with me. I wanted to tell you –"

"I know, I know, I need to give it a break and not try to kill my teammates." She sighed dejectedly. He looked at her in surprise.

"What? No. I just wanted to say that I think this is going really well." … Was he mocking her? Because if he was mocking her…she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Kakashi-Senpai, if you're making fun of me…" He hurriedly brought up his hands and crinkled his eye,

"No, no, no. I'm serious. I've seen missions like this break up teams. The stress affects everyone differently, and as violent as you tend to be…" She coughed into her hand, "I know all of you would never abandon each other." Well, great. Now she felt bad about how she was treating Sasuke. This was probably the hardest for him.

"Thanks, sensei."

"And don't worry about, Sasuke. He'll get over it." And laying a palm on her head, he ruffled her hair like old times. It felt nice to be back there.

"Thank you, Kakai-sensei." She grinned up at him and dropped back to walk with Sasuke, who was, of course, bringing up the rear alone. He didn't acknowledge her as she walked next to him, \because he's a pigheaded prat\. Ignoring her self for a moment, she reached down and took his hand.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun." And then, he visibly relaxed. She saw the tension leave his neck and shoulders, and the stiffness in his eyes was gone. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"Aa." But he kept her hand in his… until,

"So, Sasuke, you know that until you buy Sakura-chan a ring, she's still on the market, right?"

Oh, bother.

* * *

A/N: YAY! SEQUEL! … I make no promises about this though, I have only a vague inclination of where it is going. 

I tried not to stray too far away from our characters, and they're all a liiiiittle more touchy due to the fact that they're seeking out… well… Itachi. Again, anything within the \...\ is Inner Sakura. And yeah, I guess that's about it. Oh wait, also, I have no beta, as usual, so if there are glaring errors, please let me know, and I shall fix (them).

Let me know if you guys dig it, and I shall continue. I want only to please the readers.

♥Love♥,

The skiz-meister.

Btdubz, I'm like, so obsessed with reviews. You should totally feed the addiction.

Check you later bebés.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ah, finally, an _inn_… with _beds_… and a real _shower_." 

"Okay, Dobe, we get it, you're dirty and tired. Stop talking." Naruto, who had been stretching his arms over his head lazily, spun around in order to shove his index finger into Sasuke's face. Unfortunately for both of them, he misjudged the distance and ended up shoving his index finger _up Sasuke's nose_. Which, to be quite honest, was probably the funniest thing she had seen in three weeks. "By dose!" Sasuke was now clutching his face while Naruto was shaking his hand desperately,

"Ew, ew, ew, ew, get it ooooooooooooff!" Nipping the situation in the bud, Kakashi grabbed both Sasuke and Naruto by the collars and walked towards the front desk, calling back to her for all to hear,

"Amane-chan, please get their medication ready. And the tranquilizers, you know they won't take it otherwise." She smiled in response,

"Yes, sensei." It was definitely worth the glares her two wayward teammates were throwing back in her direction. Of course, these glares only lasted as long as it took Kakashi to make it to their rooms, shove Sasuke and Naruto into one, hand Sakura her key, and follow Sai into their room. Grinning to herself, she unlocked her door and took in the (much, much, much) welcome sight before her. 

Bed, bath, and a mini bar. She loved being the only girl. Throwing down her pack and walking to the bathroom for her long awaited shower, she couldn't help but consider sharing a room with Sasuke. It wouldn't be entirely appropriate, so to speak, but it would be nice to have him with her. It had been forever since they'd had a moment to themselves. Maybe she would ask him if he'd stay in her room tonight. As she reached out to open the door, she glanced at her hand and realized that yes, he _would_ need to buy her a ring soon. After all, she _was_ quite the catch. Humming happily, she went about her ablutions. 

Her momentary peace was shattered the next moment when the sound of a crash slammed through her wall and shook her shower nozzle of its hook, which of course caused it to land directly on her crown.

"Owwwwwwwwww!" She couldn't help but moan out loud. Bringing that same ringless hand up to her forehead, she brought it back and discovered that now she was bleeding. Perfect. She could heal it immediately and finish washing, but maybe the two idiots next to her needed a wake-me-up. Pulling back her hair, and putting on her pajamas, she took a quick look in the mirror before walking to their room. Blood tracks running down her forehead? Check. Perfect. They were going to _flip_. She opened her door, walked over one, and just before she knocked she took a breath and willed herself to tear up a little. Fantastic, now they would flip and feel unbelievably guilty. Opening her eyes as wide as she could, she raised a hand and brought it forward. Before making contact, however,

"You've got something on your face, there, uhn." She knew that voice. "But it seems as though you'd be _quite_ pretty without it." Oh, fuck. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Yep, it was him. Blond bangs hanging over one eye, the other blue and visible. A mocking tilt of the lip, just _so_, but thankfully, he was lacking the infamous cloak. Which, to be quite frank, made a hell of a lot more sense than wearing it. It was a freakin' beacon of 'hey look at me, I'm a missing nin, and I'm in one of the most notorious criminal factions in the history of the bloody _world_'… che, idiots. 

"Oh, I know… I was just..." He didn't seem to know who she was yet, this was good… if he saw Naruto or Kakashi however… of course… this did seem rather opportune considering they were looking for information on Uchiha Itachi. "Looking for help." She turned to him and hoped to God that he still wouldn't recognize her. It had been about six years since he'd seen her last. And then, she'd been in the background until he'd already left with Gaara's body… she made sure to let the pain come through her gaze, "Do you think you could be my knight in shining armor? I'm all by myself here, and ... I'm not really sure what to do…" She let a few tears roll down her cheeks, "It really hurts." Throw in a sniffle here and there for consistency. Hopefully he was just an asshole to his enemies, and not to pretty, clumsy girls. 

"Ah, well, I suppose I could, uhn…" He sounded so unsure, what the hell. She was _cute_ damn it. Who wouldn't want to help such a beauty?! Oh she'd show him… No, no, must act demure. 

"Oh, that would be _so_ helpful! Thank you!" And sighing inwardly, she latched onto his arm. "I'm Amane Makino!" 

"Ah, Amane-chan, my name is Rui," He said this with a grin, and then she felt a light touch to her behind. \Looks like his sure of himself now.\ What. The. Hell. "Come on, I'll help you with your head, uhn." 

"Please, call me Makino-chan." She blinked at him in feigned happiness. They had come to his room, apparently, because he'd opened a door and pulled her inside. Hopefully this helpful Deidara was not a ruse so as to rape her or something, because she'd have to break character for that. Talk about inopportune. \Well, it's not like he's a _troll_.\ … Wow. Her inner had sunk to a new low it seemed. All was as it seemed, however; he took her into the bathroom and let her sit on the counter as he wiped her forehead for her. 

"I was right, you are quite pretty when you're not covered in blood, Makino-chan!" Yeah right, he probably found her _more_ attractive when she was covered in blood. Super freak. He was a very freaky man. "So what brings you to this inn?" Oh shoot, cover story, cover story… channel inner-fangirl Sakura! Go! 

"I'm here on the way to visit my cousin, she's having a baby, and I am so excited! I heard the baby, Tsuki-chan, is soooooo cute! I want a baby so bad, but of course I know I'm too young right now, I'm not even _dating_anyone! What are you doing here, Rui-kun? Are you here to meet your _girlfriend_?" She hoped she wasn't laying it on too thick, he was looking at her strangely now. 

"… No. Business." Either he thought something was up, or he was completely inept at talking to pretty girls. 

"Oh." She pouted her lips, she probably looked totally _fetching_, band aid on the forehead and all. "Rui-kun doesn't want to tell me he has a girlfriend!" 

"What?! No!" Oh good, at least that got a reaction, "I am _not_ meeting any girlfriend, I don't even have a girlfriend." Now to look hopeful,

"No?" God how had she done this so often to Sasuke, "So will Rui-kun go on a date with me? I should properly thank Rui-kun for helping me; dinner sounds like it is a good way to do that!" He took her hand in his and sent her another one of those disgusting smirks,

"Well, seeing as how my business partner isn't arriving until tomorrow, I think that sounds delightful, Makino-chan." He paused, throwing away the band aid wrapper, "Alright, all finished." He lifted her off the counter and set her back down, like she was one of his bloody statues. "Perhaps I should escort you back to your room?" He looked hopeful enough that for a weird split second, she felt bad for playing with this emotions… of course, then she remembered that he'd tried to kill her and her friends, on more than one occasion.

"Oh, no, no, no, that won't be necessary! I don't want to inconvenience Rui-kun anymore than I already have." She put on a cute smile and lifted her finger to her lips, "But I can meet Rui-kun here at 8?" 

"Sounds perfect, Makino-chan." He walked her to the door then and let her out, "I'll see you tonight." She couldn't help but hear the suggestive undertone of his voice and had to try doubly hard to school her features. It wouldn't do to be caught this late in the game. She'd gotten herself into this, she'd have to prove that she could do it.

"See you then, Rui-kun! Thanks again!" She flipped around and skipped back to the staircase to return to her floor. 

Opening her room door she immediately stalked to the bed and fell into it heavily. How was she going to tell the rest of her team about this… Hey guys, I'm going on a date with Deidara, remember Naruto? The one who tried to kill you _and_ Gaara? Oh, Kakashi-sensei, you wouldn't believe it, you know that guy that made you use the mangekyou, well, he thinks I'm totally hot. Sasuke-kun, I'm not cheating on you, I just have to pretend to like him to get him to tell me things. 

They were going to kill her. 

"Sakura?"

"AH!!" When her heart quit beating so loudly that she couldn't hear anything else, she finally spoke again, "… Sasuke?" 

"… You were expecting Sai?" He was sitting at her desk and she hadn't even noticed him. How did he fucking _do_ that?! "What happened to your head? And why haven't you just healed it?" She didn't' want to get into that subject quite yet. At her lack of retort, he got up and walked to her, "Is something wrong?" She couldn't help but look at him, he was not going to like this at all, the last thing she wanted to do was upset him. But… the pressure of lips on hers broke her out of her reverie. He pulled away and offered her a slight grin, "I've been waiting to do that since we started this mission." He was already lying next to her on his side, resting his head on his arm and looking down at her in muted emotion. This made her decision easier. She reached for him and as their arms entwined, all thoughts vanished from her head. She'd tell him later.

* * *

A/N: Chapter two has arrived. And I hate it. I mean, I guess I don't _hate_ it. But I feel like it's kind of boring. I don't know, you tell me. Obviously, this is more than a little AU-ish in that Deidara's stil alive. I really, really like him and I couldn't think of any other akatsuki I'd rather use. Also, I LOVE the ending. So romantic and cute. 3 

Also, turns out this story's going to be way harder because it actually has to have a_plot_ and can't just be 23 chapters of Sasuke and Sakura being funny and talking to each other. Damn. 

Well, tell me what you thought, because if all of you hate it, I'll pull it and come up with something new lol. This story's more for you than for me, after all. 

Review dears, seriously… I have to know if this is going a way you'd like it to. 


	3. Chapter 3

His skin was so much smoother than it rightfully should have been

His skin was so much smoother than it rightfully should have been. She couldn't keep her fingers to herself; instead they trailed lightly along his jaw line, then tracing a fine scar from his temple to his cheekbones. There her fingers fluttered, dusting over his closed eyes before making it to his hairline.

The moment was surreal: the cantor of his breathing perfectly keeping time to the beat of her heart, her hand, now continuing its exploration of his skin, running down from his collarbone to his sternum and pausing there. His eyes were still closed, one arm tossed carelessly behind his head, the other around her shoulders. It was times like this that she thought it _had_ to be a dream. That there was no way that this man could be here, right now.

… Maybe she should wake him… just in case. She leaned up to his ear,

"Sasuke-kun?" Hopefully the whisper would work, "Pssst, Sasuke-kun…" This garnered no response, other than a slight twitch of his nose. … Another tactic then.

She had it – she'd kiss him awake! She sighed inwardly, it was _soooo_ romantic! Reaching forward, she pulled herself up to his face, and moved to meet his lips.

Aaaah, _contact. _Sasuke, of course, needed no urging and immediately responded… albeit, sleepily.

"Mmm, Sakura…" This was how she wanted the rest of her life to be – absolutely per –

"Sakura-chan! Kakashi-sensei gave me an extra – AAAAH!!"

"GET OUT, NARUTO!" She'd already pulled the covers up to her neck and thrown the lamp at him and, thankfully he was so surprised, it managed to hit him in the face.

"AAAAAAAH!!" Now she couldn't tell if he was screaming from pain, or from the sight of seeing his two teammates… _ahem_. Sasuke had, in turn, rolled over and covered his head with a pillow… though he seemed to be groaning. What the hell, he was supposed to be protecting her _modesty_. She couldn't help but reminisce about the days when he used to protect her… granted, they were twelve… but… _c'mon_. She was going to seriously start playing the damsel in distress role more often.

Oh, right… back to the matter at hand. Keeping the blanket to her chest and with as much dignity as she could muster,

"_Why_ are you here?" Thankfully, he'd respectively turned his back to her… but she could see that he was rubbing his nose. She'd probably have to fix that for him later.

"Kakashi-sensei told me to get you and Sasuke –" Of _course_ it was Kakashi, "Because he went snooping and found out some information but he won't tell us until everyone gets there, so c'moooooooooooooooon." Well, shoot. She couldn't really fault him for that, "And so he gave me your key because I think he knew what was going on and he's a bastard." That however… as she was musing, she realized Naruto was turning around,

"Oi! Pervert! Don't peek! Get out!" and she threw the phone at him.

"ITAI!!"

After he'd run out of the room, she turned to Sasuke who was already sitting on the edge of the bed pulling on his pants.

"Hopefully this will be something." She shifted nervously; he'd all but growled that out. Hmmm… it was probably something she already knew. Maybe she should tell him now – "I'll meet you there." Or not… Fine. Didn't even wait for her. Stupid men with their one track minds.

Two minutes later \he couldn't wait freaking two minutes!?\ Eesh… two minutes later, she'd made her way to Kakashi and Sai's room. As soon as she opened the door,

"Aah, here she is, now Sakura can tell us all about what I've found." Uh oh. This couldn't be good.

"What would Sakura-chan have to tell us, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto was staring at their pervert, stupid, irritatingly-good-at-his-job sensei quizzically.

"Um… well…"

"I assumed that Sakura was with Sasuke-san doing things in their bed… I did not realize she'd aided you in your reconnaissance, Kakashi-san."

"SAI! SHUT UP! OH MY GOD YOU DO THIS ON PURPOSE NOW! I KNOW YOU KNOW BETTER!"

"This would move faster if the extra statements went _unsaid_." The steel edge to his voice went completely ignored by Sai, who chose instead to smile at her. She would kill him someday, when they didn't need him anymore, he was so going down. "Sakura? What is Kakashi talking about?"

"… Um… see… I uh… earlier, you guys made my shower fall on my head, right," She gestured to the band aid still covering her forehead, "And um so to teach you a lesson, I decided to not heal it and just went to your door to knock so you'd answer and I'd be all gross and covered in blood and teary eyed and it would've worked so well because you guys are so dumb and –"

"Sakura. You're rambling. Get to the point." What a jerk.

"Fine, Sasuke-_kun_, since you're being so _pleasant_ and all." He was totally sleeping in Naruto's room tonight. She crossed her arms, letting him know that there was now a physical barrier between them. … Hopefully he could read body language. He was kind of an emotional idiot after all. "_Any_way, so I was just about to knock when someone hit on me."

"WHAT?!"

"Who."

"This is going to get gooooood." Her sensei was leering at them. Oh god.

"Okay, you guys are going to have to stop interrupting me and just let me get this out before you do or say anything. Otherwise I'm going to stop talking and deal with this whole thing myself." Yeah, right. Like that would ever happen in a million years. She wasn't an idiot, taking an Akatsuki member on by _herself_. "So, _anyway_, as I was saying… someone hit on me, and once I realized who this person was I convinced them to help me clean my forehead up and managed to finagle a date for tonight so I can do some digging because this person didn't recognize me, which is fantastic, because now I can get information that we need!" She looked at the four other men on her team, they all looked very, very suspicious. Except Kakashi… who looked incredibly nervous. He'd already put two and two together, then.

"Sakura." She could decidedly _not_ ignore the steel in Sasuke's voice, "_Who_ exactly did you run into and agree to _go on a date with_."

"Ahm… heh… heh… Deidara?" She mumbled it. Maybe if she mumbled it, they wouldn't understand her.

"THAT GUY?! DEIDARA!? FROM THE AKATSUKI?!"

"NARUTO SHUT THE HELL UP! DO YOU WANT THE WHOLE STUPID HOTEL TO HEAR YOU?!"

"Sakura, your voice isn't any softer. Quiet down." Bastard, bastard, bastard!

"This team gets louder every time we go on a mission, Kakashi-san."

"… I should take notes. This would make an excellent addition to Jiraiya's next novel, Rivals for the Cherry." Wait – what? Damn it. Too much. She'd deal with that later. "So, Sakura, you're going undercover on a date with the Akatsuki member, Deidara. When?"

"At 8… so two hours?" Sasuke was pinching the bridge of his nose, like he was _irritated_ or something. This was ridiculous for two reasons, one: he wasn't the one who had to go on the stupid date with a creepy art obsessed psycho killer, and two: it was so they could kill his stupid brother any way… which was only the _goal of his life_.

"I can't believe you're going on a date with that asshole, Sakura-chan." Why were her teammates so freaking –

"We're not dumb, Sakura. It's just a little frustrating that you would take a step without consulting us, and one that could very easily end badly."

"How was I supposed to _consult_ you, Sasuke?! He was in the palm of my hand, I had to do it. Any ninja would. You know that."

"There had to be another way." Oh, now he was going to stand up and cross _his_ arms?! Oh, hell no.

"Oh like what Sasuke? Fight him in the hallway of a hotel? Yeah, that makes _so_ much more sense."

"Okay okay, what's done is done, Sakura has to go through with the date, Sasuke. So fighting isn't going to help anything right now," Kakashi had _finally_ deigned to intervene. He was probably getting off on the lover's quarrel, bastard pervert. Admittedly, Naruto and Sai had been even less help. The former having finally learned some restraint as to when to open his mouth, and the latter… was probably studying them or something. Weirdo. "Let's just see how we can handle this."

"Che. Whatever."

"_I_ think we should take full advantage of this, Kakashi-sensei." She said this while deliberately staring at her current love interested, who _of course_, made no move to acknowledge her.

"I agree, Sakura. The question is how."

"Eh, eh, sensei … Sakura isn't going to have to… _you know_, with Deidara, is she?" Naruto had the subtlety of a two ton elephant. He was actually nudging and winking. Literally. So, she _literally_ slapped a palm to her forehead.

OW. Damn it. She'd forgotten about the band aid.

"She's _not_ going on this date." And that Sasuke was still listening. Well, shit.

* * *

A/N: So yes. I'm being really good with this update weekly thing. Although next week is going to be hectic… so… we shall see how that goes. But, next chapter WILL have the date with Deidara. So there's that to look forward to… right? Right??

I forgot to say in last week's A/N, the names, Rui and Makino … might be from Hana Yori Dango. Because I'm _kind_ of a RuiXMakino fangirl… but I think most of that is because I hate – hate – hate Matsumoto Jun's stupid perm and I love – love – love Oguri Shun (period). We're getting married. I mean we don't speak the same language. But it's okay. We'll make it work with facial expressions and hand gestures.

… But, I digress.

Pleeeease review, it makes me want to update faster. Ferserious.

And **Withdrawn** thank for you for your great reviews (heart). I'm loving them, seriously. I get excited every time I see that you've left me one.

Well, I suppose that's it.

OH WAIT. I want to brag. Because I just got my ticket to New York Comic Con. And Neil Gaiman's going to be there. And I'm going to throw myself at him and then ask him if his editor will hire me as an assistant.

Wish me luck XD

Ok now seriously, I'm done. G'BAI FRENZ!


	4. Chapter 4

"Hmmmm… shorts, skirt, or light yukata

"Hmmmm… shorts, skirt, or light yukata." She had laid out all her clothing options on her bed and was standing before it in thought. "Whatever should I wear…"

"You seem to be putting a lot of thought into this." Oh right, and there was Sasuke. Sulking in the corner.

"_Obviously_, Sasuke-kun. I have to make it look real. He's not exactly an idiot." Unlike some other people in the room. But no, no she wouldn't say that out loud. Had the situations been reversed and he had to pretend to go out with that female akatsuki member, she would have been _pissed_. He shrugged in response. She pulled on the skirt and moved to the mirror. She supposed he wasn't exactly an idiot, either, when it came down to it. He might be cranky and irritable, but he knew she'd have to go through with it.

Although… if he didn't think Deidara could recognize a henge, she was sure she'd be tied up and locked in a closet with him taking her place before she could count to three.

"Che. Whatever. Don't do anything stupid."

"Thank you, because I was planning on falling in love with him and changing sides to Akatsuki, betraying my friends, my family, and my home. And, I'm totally going to tell him _all_ about Naruto." She glanced at him in the mirror, standing up and walking towards her.

"Sarcasm doesn't become you." He paused, their eyes meeting in the reflection, "You should wear the yukata. Traditional dress will be more…" He faltered,

"_Becoming_?" She grinned. And match-point goes to Sakura. _Oh _yeah.

"I was going to say _alluring_. But smugness doesn't become you either, so you might have a difficult time being anything but irritating." Damn it.

"I hate you."

"You love me, Uchiha-san." He smirked, kissed her shoulder and turned to go before she could even react to the way he had addressed her. Hmm, it did have a nice ring to it, Uchiha Sakura. "I can hear your giggling, Sakura. You should know that that doesn't lend itself to _seductress_ so much as twelve-year-old-fan-girl."

"I HATE YOU!"

…………

So, the plan had been: meet Demon in his lair at 8:00pm, proceed to dinner with Demon, and subtly grill Demon for information while under the guise of being infatuated with Demon. What actually occurred was somewhat, ahem, _different_.

"Rui-kun!" She called at as she knocked on Deidara's door, "It's Makino-chan!" She attempted to give her voice a breathy quality which she felt sounded quite fetching. The door creaked open as she raised her hand to knock again, "Rui-kun?" She peeked inside, hm, weird, nothing. "Rui-kun??" A little louder this time. Pause. Still nothing. She inched into the door and looked around. The place was kind of a disaster. Okay, a complete disaster. Did he have no sense of cleanliness whatsoever?? Because, ew.

Oh God, what had she just stepped in?! Did she want to take a closer look? She leaned down to look at the little spot of brown on the carpet… Oh good, it was just clay. Wait didn't he use clay to –

– **POP** –

"MY FACE!"

"Makino-chan!" Perfect. She probably had soot marks all over her face and probably on her yukata. This, _this_, is what she got for attempting to go on a date with an idiot who made explosive statues. She'd show him how much of a _bang_ art was.

… It was probably better that she didn't say that out loud. Okay, time to adopt fan-girl-persona! Go!

"Oh! Rui-kun, I don't know what happened! I was just trying to get to you and now… now everything's _ruined_!" She balled her fists and tried very hard to bring tears to her eyes. Of course, now she probably looked like she had a tick. Deidara looked too panic stricken at the notion of her crying (or maybe of her finding his explosives) to actually notice her inability to, well, cry.

"Makino-chan, no, no, no, don't cry, it's alright, uhn. It was just a practical joke that I had set up to play on my partner, when he comes in later. Are you hurt?" Wow, he must have had absolutely no confidence in her intelligence what-so-ever. Well, she supposed that meant she was playing her part.

"No, just dirty. I don't think I got burned or anything, so I guess everything's okay! I'll just go wash my face in the bathroom and then we can go to dinner, ne?" She tilted her head at him and proceeded to the bathroom to work on what was left of her beautiful face. One look in the mirror told her that this was going to take a while. Damn it.

Fifteen minutes later, she'd salvaged what she could and returned to her wayward (read as: criminal) date. Luckily, her clothes were still clean; the majority of the damage had been above the neck. _Luckily_.

She should probably stop grinding her teeth. Oh, hell.

"All finished Rui-kun, shall we?" Now that she wasn't covered in debris /melodramatic much?/ Whatever! Now that she wasn't _covered in debris_, she could take a look at the akatsuki member she had agreed to date. If she could temporarily forget that he was a betraying, cocky, murderer, he was actually kind of cute. In a way. In an androgynous way. /In a _hot_ way/. Thank you, Inner-Sakura. Sheesh. What a horndog.

"Absolutely," He offered her his arm; it seemed he did have some gentlemanly traits after all. Hm, who knew? She giggled and took it, keeping a bounce in her step to go along with her bubbly personality. She could almost hear her teammates laughing. Deidara had gotten a funny look on his face,

"Do you hear that, Makino-chan?" No wait, scratch that, she _could_ hear her teammates laughing. What the hell?!

"Ah yes, I think I know what it is though. I saw some children playing the halls on my way to your room, it's probably still them." She tried very hard to keep the hiss out of her tone. So help her God, she was going to kill them. She could almost _see_ Naruto snickering. Idiot.

"Ah, I see. You know, Makino-chan," He'd placed a hand on the small of her back, guiding her to the stairs, like she couldn't find them on her own or something, "In all the excitement, I haven't had a chance to tell you how beautiful you look tonight. I've half a mind to ask you to model for me, uhn." Gag. Nooooooo thank you, Creepy-McCreeperstein. But instead, she just batted him on the shoulder,

"Oh, Rui-kun, stop, you're making me blush!" More like vomit. A sudden crash sounded from behind them, followed by the sound of what could only be a fist to someone's face. "Oh, ho, ho, those kids!" She was overcompensating, she could see herself doing it, but it was impossible to stop. Stupid teammates.

This was going to be a long, long night.

She walked with Deidara down the stairs and out the door, heading towards the one restaurant she'd noticed on the way to the hotel.

…………….

It was official: the date was a complete and utter disaster. In the time it had taken them to get to the restaurant and sit down, she'd fallen twice (who _knew_ where her ninja grace had gone), ran into a pole (again, hello? Ninja grace? Could you come back please?), been accosted no less than three times (if she'd known there were so many perverts in this town she'd have stayed in the hotel and let Sasuke take over), and lastly, she'd distracted Deidara from her teammates' idiocy at least three times (whether there was a correlation between that and her pervert issues, she was decidedly not thinking about).

So here they were. She was a mess. Deidara, of course, was unruffled. Glowing, even. … They were only three drinks in. Luckily, it seemed the Deidara was not someone who could easily hold is liquor.

"Ah, Makino-chan! I'm already having fun!" Of _course_ he was, he wasn't the one being molested… well, for the most part. So maybe of the three perverts had gone for him first – but _whatever_! That said absolutely _nothing_ about her femininity whatsoever. Nothing at – "Makino-chan?" Oops, internal ramblings: off.

"Absolutely, Rui-kun! I love exciting dates!"

"I agree, Makino-chan, excitement is a key factor for me, uhn." She couldn't help but notice the devious turn his smirk had taken… Well, he might have some, ahem, _thoughts_ in that head of his, but at least it opened up a talking point she could use.

"Ah, does that mean you live a _dangerous_ lifestyle, Rui-kun?" She hoped she sounded seductive, "There's nothing sexier than a risk-taker, after all." She paused, "Well, other than an artist risk-taker… like… oh, like a revolutionary!" She had made sure not to break eye contact with him through out her response and to her surprise he'd gotten redder and redder as she'd gone on. Ordering the alcohol had been a very good idea. Although… shit, why was he standing up?

"Makino-chan! You are my perfect match!!"

"_Eh_?!" He swooped back down, swinging his chair around so that now he was sitting right next to her and was whispering in her ear.

"My job is _very_ dangerous, Makino-chan, you were right – I _am_ a revolutionary. Would you like to _see_ my art, uhn?" What was he – Oh… ew. Ew, ew, ew, ew, _ew_.

"Ah, Rui-kun. Definitely. But all in good time. I'm not sure we're ready for me to see your 'art' yet." She smiled sweetly. "Tell me more about your revolutionalizing, who knows, I might not be able to _contain_ myself." She dropped a hand to his thigh, "I do _love_ stories." She felt him shiver and had to try very hard not to squirm as she watched his hand come up to cup her cheek.

"I will tell you everything you want to know," He breathed, getting significantly closer than she would have liked. Belatedly, she realized his breath didn't reek of sake as it should have. "Sakura-chan."

Oh, fuck.

* * *

A/N: I'm the worst ever. Ever, ever, ever, ever. Don't I know it. Not only do I not update for almost a _month_, but when I do, I leave you with an evil cliff hanger. I'm a terrible person.

_Sigh_.

But, this chapter's definitely longer than usual. Sooooo there's that right? And um, I'm pretty, too. So… I guess I'm not so bad.

This is the most self-aware-author's-note ever!

Okay, so the real apologies begin here: I'm super sorry I haven't updated in like forever-ever. Unfortunately, I have finals coming up and they're hard and lots of work and take over my life when I'm not _at_ work. Also, I had comic con all weekend which was fucking awesome – I met Neil Patrick Harris! Who is, of course, legen- (wait for it, wait for it) – _dary_! And Neil Gaiman read to me. Well, to a lot of us, but especially to me. And I love him even more now, and though I didn't get a chance to throw myself at him this time… there's always next year. Mark my words, Neil Gaiman, there's _always_ next year. … Okay, /end rant.

Anyhow – so yeah, I made up for Deidara not being able to recognize Sakura, because really, he _did_ and he's still evil and not just goofy and yeah. What do you guys think? Was anybody expecting this? Hmmmmmm?

As ever, tell me what you thought, how much I suck for my slow updates, etc etc, because nothing makes me happier than reviews (and money.) XD

See you kiddos after my finals are over.

Now go click Go and collected 200 monopoly dollars.

Heart.


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